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The First Americans

By Alexa

The First People were here long before a Spanish admiral set sail to please his queen and set his place in history as an explorer who "discovered" their homeland. It is believed that the first Native Americans arrived during the last Ice Age, approximately 20,000 - 30,000 years ago, through a land-bridge across the Bering Sound, from northeastern Siberia into Alaska.

The oldest documented Indian cultures in North America are Sandia (15000 BC), Clovis (12000 BC) and Folsom (8000 BC). No treaty or law has the power to change the truth. This land, America, is their land. It always has been.

Do you think the descendents of the First Americans might be owed  . . . at least an apology? I do. But let's be honest. A real apology doesn't have disclaimers or conditions or strings attached. An apology means just one thing: You are sorry for what you've done, or what's been done in your name. Full stop.

This is an excerpt of  S. J. RES. 4, commonly referred to as the "apology bill."

• 1. Tribes have a special political and legal relationship with the United States;
• 2. Native peoples have been stewards and protectors of the land for thousands of years;
• 3. The United States has broken treaties and covenants, made ill-conceived policies, and deprived Indian tribes of their rights;
• 4. Apologizes to all native people in the United States, "for instances of violence, maltreatment, and neglect inflicted on Native Peoples by citizens of the United States;
• 5. Expresses regret and a commitment that the United States will build upon positive relationships with native people so that all people will live harmoniously with one another and the land;
• 6. Urges the United States President to acknowledge the offenses committed by the United States against Indian tribes; and
• 7. Commends current state governments' reconciliation efforts and encourages other states to develop a healing process with Indian tribes.

(Emphasis added because #3 and #4 are especially important, in my opinion. In order to offer a true apology, the wrongdoing should be very clearly acknowledged.)

However, bipartisan legislation has been introduced to the Senate and has never been passed as an unconditional apology. An "apology" was amended to a health care appropriations bill in February of this year. Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) praised the passage of the bill in the following press statement.

U.S. Senator Sam Brownback today applauded passage of an amendment to the Indian Health Care Bill offering an official apology from the United States federal government to Native Americans. Senator Brownback has been calling for an apology since 2004.

"With this apology, the federal government can repair and improve our relationship with Native Americans," said Brownback. "While we cannot erase the past, this amendment hopefully helps heal the wounds that have divided America for too long."

Brownback continued, "Our nation's relationship with the Native peoples of this land is an issue that is very important to the health of the United States. For too much of our history, Federal-Tribal relations have been marked by broken treaties, mistreatment, and dishonorable dealings. We can acknowledge our past failures, express sincere regrets, and establish a brighter future for all Americans.

"This amendment does not diminish the valiance of our American soldiers who fought bravely for their families in wars between the United States and a number of the Indian Tribes. Nor does this amendment cast the blame for the various battles on one side or another. What this apology does do is recognize and honor the importance of Native Americans to this land and to our nation - in the past and today - and offers this apology to Native peoples for the poor and painful choices our government sometimes made to disregard its solemn word. Hopefully, this apology will help restore the relationship between the United States and Native Americans."

Okay, Senators. S. 1200 was passed 83-10 in Congress, but I think Kevin Abourezk is completely correct about this:

Naïve at best, the resolution epitomizes the government's reliance on good words in dealing with Indian issues.

Only a formal Indian apology uttered by a sitting president, something this president never would do, and then followed by immediate action to improve Indian communities, could ever begin to repair the federal government's fractured relationship with tribes.

That's not something this resolution - slipped under the door like a "Dear John" note - could ever hope to do.

We can't erase the sad, shameful past. The First People, and First Americans have ample reason to despise us for not only the past (a past highlighted by mass murder, slavery, rape, land theft, portraying Native Americans as criminals in such a schizo reversal of truth that it's still in the textbooks of American schoolchildren) on to the inaction of the federal government after passing the health care bill to actually enact it.

This is personal. I see Winter Rabbit, Meteor Blades, Betsy Campisi, Georgia Little Shield and it's almost impossible to suppress my own apologies. I am truly, wholeheartedly ashamed of the cruelty my country has demonstrated toward First People. It's incomprehensible to me that we don't treat the First People as our most honored of citizens today.

We've never been able to effect positive, meaningful change for First People through the so-called legislative chain of command. So it's on you and I, amigos. We can't un-do the past, but together, we can work to educate our children and yes, even our grown family members and friends who have their heads in the sand about Native American issues. We can promote awareness and try to do every little thing in our power to make our apologies meaningful.  

Full post as published by Never In Our Names on October 12, 2008 (boomark / email).